Jun 19, 2012

Chicken and rice, otherwise known as arroz con pollo is a delicious one pot meal the whole family will love. Arroz con pollo can be made so many different ways and also varies from country to country. In fact, I don't use a recipe when I make this, I just use whatever I have on hand so it may never turn out the same twice. This is my Mom's version, which I've lightened up and recently altered slightly. This recipe first appeared here in 2008 but was in desperate need of a new photo so I hope you enjoy it!

Mom makes her arroz con pollo with beer, green olives along with some of the brine for more flavor and she adds frozen mixed vegetables to it. She typically uses whole chicken pieces on the bone (skin and all) which gives it great flavor, but for this recipe I used boneless, skinless thighs.

Some of my Latin recipes you'll see "sazon" listed in the ingredients. I buy Badia's sazon because it has no msg but you can make it yourself if it's not available near you. Sazon basically means seasoning in Spanish; it typically includes salt, ground black pepper, garlic powder, dried ground coriander seed, cumin, ground oregano and ground achiote (annatto) seeds. The achiote (annatto) is what gives the sazon the reddish color and makes the rice yellow. You could sub paprika for the achiote, if this isn't available to you. Some varieties contain azafrán (saffron), a pinch is all you'll need if you want to add it. When you make your own, a good ratio is one tbsp of each spice. Mix well and store it someplace dry. When a recipe calls for a packet, simply use 1 1/2 tsp in place of the sazon. Best part, no msg.

It's perfectly fine to use the chicken on the bone, and yes, you can use white meat if you prefer however, I personally find white meat too dry in this dish for my taste. I love this served with a little hot sauce on top and a simple salad on the side. If you would like to try my version which is made slightly different, and has no beer, click on Arroz Con Pollo, Lightened Up or make them both and let me know which you like best!

Place onion, bell pepper, garlic, and cilantro in a chopper or food processor to chop fine.

In a large heavy pot with a good fitting lid such as a Dutch oven; heat 1 tsp of oil over medium heat. Season chicken pieces with salt and sauté until browned, about 5-7 minutes. Remove chicken and set aside.

Add frozen mixed vegetables, alcaparrado (or pimientos) with a little of the brine (liquid) from the olive jar, and rice. Stir and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium low and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally until water boils down and barely skims the top. Once the water level reaches the top of the rice, cover with a tight fitting lid so no steam escapes and cook 25-30 minutes. (Tip: if your lid doesn't have a good tight fit, place a paper towel over the pot then cover as pictured below)

Shut heat off and let the pot sit wit the cover on an additional 10 minutes. Remove lid and fluff with a fork.

All the recipes I have tried so far have been great!! Full of flavor, being Latina foods cannot be bland and many recipes are, but yours are not! Could you tell me what a serving would be in this arroz con pollo? Is it one cup with a thigh?

Hi, Sazon is a type of seasoning made by Goya. You can find it in the "Latin Foods" section of your supermarket. I live in So Cal and they always have it in the grocery stores around here but if you can't find it there I am sure they carry it in a Hispanic market near you!

Hi Gina, I recently made this dish and the flavor was great, but the rice was a bit mushy...any tips? I've tried to make arroz con pollo for years and always the same results. Yet, I've made other rice dishes w/o the rice turning out mushy! We still ate it though :)Thanks!

Hi there! Yes, make sure the water evaporates almost completely before you cover it and reduce the heat to low. What cooks the rice is the steam, so if you cover it too soon, it's going to make mushy rice. I should re-photograph step by step, especially since this was taking with a snap and shoot camera back in the day.

This recpipe sounds great, and I have never been disappointed by any of your recipes.. I usually follow them exacy but for this one- I have everything on hand except for the beer.. okay to omit or subsitute?

Hi Gina! I can't make this yet cos I'm eating low-carb for a while but I just wanted to say thank you for your recipes. They are so detailed and easy to follow and everything is always yummy. You definitely don't compromise on flavor, I'm west African and that's important to me too!Have a great week!

I would love to know how big your cupboard is that keeps all your pretty dishes for the photos, and swatches of napkins, etc!! lol. I love it. Loving the little pot-dishes you have the rice in, today especially. :)

This sounds great! I wonder if there is a way to lower the sodium content even further??!! Hmmm... I have high blood pressure & I'm trying to keep my BP as low as possible & have less sodium as possible. Any ideas?? Thanks :-D

I am always looking to keep sodium to a minimum, too. I would omit the chicken bouillon cube (usually very high in sodium) and replace some of the water with low-sodium chicken broth to add back chicken flavor. You might also consider omitting the olive brine, since that's going to be high in sodium, too.

Gina - looking forward to trying this. Also, thank you for including directions to make the Sazon. Could you repost those directions in their own post to make it easier to search for next time? (Because I know I'll forget which post the instructions are in.)

wow...salt, salt, SALT all over the place in this recipe! In the tomato sauce, in the bouillon cube, in the olives/capers/pimentos and juice, in the sazon...and THEN an additional 2 tsp's to boot! Definately not heart or High BP friendly...over a 3rd of the RDA of sodium in one serving of this dish ALONE...fortunately, it has some easy fixes...FIRST, use "no salt added" tomato sauce, Omit the bouillon cube and beer and use homemade or bought unsalted chicken stock, like Kitchen Basics-unsalted...broths are WAY to high in sodium, even the so-called 'reduced' sodium ones still have nearly 600mg of sodium per serving...the unsalted stock will replace the liquid from the beer AND replace the chicken flavor missing from the bouillon cube...OR split the difference if you want the beer taste, and use the light beer AND stock to make up the 3/4cup of liquid there..and Make your own sazon mix without salt per Gina's directions...I have to say, chicken NEEDS salt or it's bland, how about cutting the 2tsp's by half, as in, just use 1 tsp...and use FINE salt or table salt instead of Kosher, which is a larger crystaline structure and won't go as far when sprinkling an item like a piece of meat as FINE or table salt would,...when you salt the chicken before cooking, do it 10 minutes ahead of time to let the salt REALLY get in the meat and dissolve & do its thing...this would literally be cutting the sodium on the chicken...in HALF! Use Black Olives instead of Green in salty brine, they have MUCH less salt, & are available, from Mario or Lindsey brands in LOW sodium varieties for even LESS salt. These changes to eliminate so much of the salt in this dish may change the flavor of the dish as a whole and yes, make it a tad bland, so..maybe bump up the homemade sazon a little to 2 tsp's to boost the flavor profile without adding additional salt. Finally, you could squeeze half a lime or a whole lime over the dish before serving...Lime and Lemon hit the same points on your tongue as SALT...satisfying that taste point. Hope some of these suggestions were helpful!

sorry...didn't mean to "offend"...a previous poster.."KANOE" had asked about lowering the sodium...was just offering suggestions because it IS high, more than a third of the RDA...and living with KIDNEY FAILURE & high Blood Pressure, I KNOW the struggle with finding LOW SODIUM recipes...and HAVE learned to adapt to still eat with flavor...and I do so to LOTS of Gina's recipes...guess I won't offer suggestions like I had been doing...even though it WAS asked for...personally...I think the comment by the other anonymous poster is what was "Tasteless"...and I'm a HE...not a SHE...Thank you very much...

I'm Puerto Rican and grew up eating arroz con pollo (con MSG). This recipe was amazing, and I'm so happy to cook without preservatives and MSG. My hubby and 2 year old son gobbled it up. It was genius to add the mixed veggies and beer.

Oh - this dish looks terrific Gina ! I have everything in stock in my fridge/freezer/pantry- BUT - I only have long grain brown rice - will that work out ok ?It's probably a silly question, but I don't want to muck it up.I know my 17&13 year old sons will love this .. food is important to teenager boys : )

Thanks much Gina! I will use white long grain rice. This recipe sounds way too good to mess up & my boys would be bummed if the rice came out weird. When I showed my 13 year old the recipe this morning- he hugged me & thanked me in advance for making it tonight. So yeah - I can't screw this up using brown rice- lol

This looks almost exactly like my Dad's arroz con pollo, which he always kicked us out of the kitchen to cook, so we never learned how to make it. Since he passed away, I've been searching for a recipe that is similar, and this looks like it! I'm so excited! The fact that it's lightened up just makes it that much better! Thanks so much!

When my family makes rice we make over 10c at a time. What we don't eat we freeze for another meal in ziplock bags. When we want rice we pop the bag in the microwave for 2 - 3 minutes and tadah...hot rice. It tastes GREAT!

What a fantastic meal! I love that you make it different every time! I am wondering, do you think that brown rice would work in this? Maybe you would have to cook it longer, but it would boost the nutritional value!? Have you ever made it with brown rice?

Love the pictures, not to mention all of your recipes!! Does your dishware ever inspire your meals? For instance, did the beautiful blue bowls in the pictures above inspire you to cook something Latin due to their appearance?

Ok every time I make this the rice does not cook through. I have no clue as to why. The only time I have made it right was when I made it the way my mom made her regular Spanish rice and that is to fry the rice a little bit. I can't ever get this one right for the life of me...lol. I also tried it another way and used less rice and it cooked. But again tried it your way per your directions and again it did not work. The bottom was to mushy and the top was still not cooked through just do not get it. I get so frustrated. :(The flavor is there though...lol. I do love your recipes and have made about 90% of them and have loved them.

Forgive me if I'm asking something you may have already tried/noticed/done - but two or three possibilities:

1. Could be that you're not stirring enough while it's simmering with the lid off. Or, 2. Perhaps you're letting too much steam escape, either before adding the lid ("simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally until water boils down and **barely skims the top**" <--asterisks mine), or afterwards - perhaps your lid needs the paper towel suggestion (frankly, I use a lightweight kitchen towel/flour-sack kind). I found when using an older pot that my aluminum foil lid was not enough, lol!

Lastly, we all visualize 'simmer' a little differently and each stovetop is different in it's temperature (plus I've learned my newly gifted tri-ply bottom pots hold the heat a lot longer, so it's less holding time for me at the end).

Really important, you cannot lift the lid while it's simmering. Any steam that escapes with ruin the rice, so make sure the lid stays on. And when you shut it off and let it sit 10 minutes, the steam is finishing the cooking, so don't lift the lid.

A heavy pot, a good fitting lid, very low flame, and no steam escaping should yield good results.

Another trick I learned from mom when she makes a lot, she puts the pot in the oven instead of simmering on the stove which prevents the bottom from burning.

Thanks for the tips! My rice has been coming out mushy and it is super frustrating! Definitely going to save these tips. I normally just let it come to a boil and then put the cover on. I use a cast iron dutch oven, so I don't think steam escaping is an issue.

Hi Gina- When cooking the chicken will it be completely cooked before the rice is added? I see you saute and brown it for 5-7 minutes, then add it back for 10-12? I don't want to eat raw chicken, so just clarifying that its okay to remove it initially before its cooked through? Making this tomorrow night after work.... Also, don't have a food processor, would it be okay to finely dice the onion, pepper, etc as well as I can with a knife?

The more popular Gina gets the more bizarre some of the comments get on here. I personally do not know what I would do without her recipes and have been cooking from her blog weekly for 2 years now. I have never been disappointed by anything she posts and can trust that it will turn out better than my expectations. She is more trustworthy recipe wise than most of the major light cooking publications or"celebrity chefs" out there. Other popular Light "Cooks" like Hungry Girl, who uses tons of pre-cooked or processed ingredients are inferior to skinnytaste. Gina uses FRESH ingredients and gives you a dependable and tested light recipe with points included. I appreciate everything she does. I have seen so many rude comments on here and unsolicited and unwarranted lectures on sodium content, lack of vegan recipes etc. If you need to watch your sodium then common sense would tell you to tailor the recipe to your dietary needs. Or find a low sodium , vegetarian, vegan, whatever blog. Jeez! Bottom line is that Skinnytaste delivers every single time. Thank you Gina for all that you do.

Here Here! Gina is the best! I don't know how I'd get a great tasting HEALTHY dinner (or desserts for parties) without Gina!! Her recipes that I've made are the only ones that have gotten me hugs from people!

Hi Gina-I made this last night and it was fabulous! I've never made anything 'Spanish' before and was thrilled with the taste. Have you ever made it for a large crowd...like 12 or more people? Could it be made ahead? I will be having a dinner party soon for about 12 people and would love to 'wow' everyone with this dish.

This looks so good. I love arroz con pollo. I have the site bookmarked and will be trying out many of your recipes as soon as I can eat again. I am 3 days post-op WLS and currently on liquids only. But I will need some nice tasty, healthy recipes for later on. Yours look fantastic. Thank you and keep 'em coming. Lauren

Gina, you have saved us all from eating bland diet food and I personally wanted to thank you! Negative people should only boost your confidence- your food rocks and they need to dig hard to find something to complain about...and even then it's usually meaningless lol keep up the amazing work :)

My daughter sent me this recipe last week asking that I make it for her, which I did tonight. It's great, and I will definitely be making it again, though probably on a weekend instead of a work day, since it did take some time to prep and cook.

Gina! I have used many of your recipes and LOVE your blog. I have to give you a shout out today this is what I packed for my day (foodwise):

Gina's skinny overnight oatmeal. YUMM! YUMM! YUMM!!Gina's Mom's chicken and rice - I put a tablespoon of greek yogurt in it after it was heated and a half of an avocado. DEELISH!and for my afternoon snack: Gina's chia seed with mango and coconut

I feel so proud of myself for packing such a healthy day of food and feel so grateful that you offer such fantastic and healthy recipes for all of us to enjoy!

I made this Tuesday night and it was just as easy and delicious as I thought it would be. The best part was the leftovers for lunch the next day!

I've never posted before, but I just want you to know that I have been cooking fresh healthy meals almost every night, mostly with your recipes, and exercising regularly since mid-January and have so far lost about 35 lbs (and quit smoking after a decade). I've still got a long way to go to make up for the 80 lbs I gained in grad school, but I wouldn't have made it this far without these delicious, low calorie recipes that don't leave me feeling deprived.

Gina...I love all your recipes too. Have followed your blog the last few years, and have kept at my optimal weight - thanks to your great recipes! BUT, I must know - where did you buy those bowls - they are beautiful!!

Just finished making/eating this for the first time: Wonderful! I used brown rice and increased the liquids by a cup. Cooked for only 10 minutes uncovered and then 45 minutes covered as tightly as I could (foil still let some steam escape). The brown rice was perfectly cooked. Thanks!

I made this tonight and liked it. I didn't have the sazon, and didn't want to buy goya's b/c of the msg. So I found a recipe online for sazon and used that. My rice needed a little more salt though. My husband loves chicken and rice and I am not a fan, but this chicken rice I can go for. I just realized while typing this that I forgot to add the veggies. So, I bet if I added them it woulud be even better :)

Finally found that olive and caper mix and made this recipe I printed out a while ago. Holy Moly, delicious! Please thank your mom too. Love your directions. I feel like I am learning to cook from you. I am so thankful for the time, attention, care and passion you put into sharing your recipes. Such a gift. Can't wait to bring some in for my workmates tomorrow. I didn't have beer so just used the broth from chicken and a little veggie stock. Added extra olive mix too as that makes it super yummy to me. Thank you!

I LOVED this! It was great to cook it all in one pot, and it's delish and full of flavor. My family loved it too. I had a tough time finding alcaparrado, so I just used capers, and chopped pimento-stuffed olives. Turned out wonderful, and my family loved it too. This is going to be regular in our home. Thanks for all the great, and low WW PointsPlus recipes. Keep them coming. :)

This was awesome! Used green pepper, halved the recipe (but kept the veggies almost the same amount), no beer (just used extra chicken buillon/water) and served with your Aji Picante sauce. Also, added potatoes. Was so flavorful and it was great to have a dish that the whole family could eat but yet I could easily make spicier with the picante sauce. Thank you!!! p.s. I have learned that the trick for rice dishes like these is to make sure you like the taste of the liquid the rice will be cooked in. Taste and adjust before putting in the rice (liquid should be salty (but not too salty) and flavorful!

p.s. I don't know if the olives added anything (they may have, and I didn't notice) but I'm not the biggest fan of olives so I was probably conservative with my amount. I liked the addition of tomato sauce. I also added a sprinkle of smoked paprika. Yum!

I made this tonight for dinner. It turned out wonderful! I wasn't able to find your brand of sazon and had to use the Goya brand one. Of course the first ingredients are msg and salt. :/ Thank you AGAIN for the trick of putting a towel or paper towel to prevent the steam from escaping. I have perfect rice every time now. Will be making the skinny tikka masala again tomorrow.

I just made this for dinner and it was AMAZING!!! I used chicken legs and cut them up at the end, subsituted green pepper for red, water for beer and sofrito for alcaparrado. Its just what I had on hand and it was still awesome.!!!

OMG!! This is the best arroz con pollo that I've ever had. I followed your instructions exactly (no substitutions) and made my own sazon, adding paprika and fresh saffron (we're Persian so we always have some on hand). This is phenomenal. Thanks for yet another tasty dish. Eat yummy food and lose weight! Doesn't get any better than that.

Can I make this without the chicken and frozen vegetables? I would like to make it as a side dish to go with my jerk chicken. I am not a fan on frozen vegetables so is there anything different I should do if I leave those ingredients out?

Thank you for all the great recipes I cook from this site all the time.

This is a great recipe! The dish is full of flavor. I used a pinch of an organic Moroccan saffron I purchased from Amazon, which enhanced the flavor of the dish. If you are interested, you can check it out here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JX1QZRO.Thanks! Keep these great recipes coming!

Simple delicious recipe that can be made in a short time and is super healthy. I would prefer using saffron over paprika. Try www.mountsaffron.com.au or your local store and they should have some. I would definitely add a lot more meat to it though. Nothing wrong with the dish as is it's just that I have a big appetite and I need a lot more meat to fill me up. The flavours are fantastic though so great job.